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A group of six cadets from Waggrakine Bushfire Brigade (BFB) are set to become the first regional team from Western Australia to compete in the Australian Cadet Fire Championships October 3-6.

The cadets, aged 11 to 16, will travel to Myuna Bay in New South Wales for the championships which include events such as hose and hydrant drills, station response, portable pump relay and a range of team building exercises.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Geraldton Community Emergency Services Manager and cadet coordinator Darren Cole, said the cadets were excited to be travelling to the eastern states for the games and were attending training twice a week in preparation.

“They’ve been amazing and the effort they have put in is commendable,” he said.

Jai Saunders, 14 has been a cadet for just over a year and said he loves the teamwork involved in being a cadet and the different drills.

“I feel really excited to be going over to the championships and we’ve been training hard. But we’re focused more on friendship and teamwork skills than winning,” he said.

Waggrakine BFB currently has 12 cadets and caters for kids between the ages of 11 to 16 teaching them about fire behaviour, safety and introduces them to firefighting.

Team Captain Sheridan Darling, 16, enjoys being a cadet and is hoping to become a fully-fledged volunteer when she returns from the Championships.

“I’d like to help the community. I’ve seen other volunteers go out to fires and I’d like to help in that way as well,” she said.

“We do activities at training to help us for when we become volunteer firefighters and we take out the hoses and work on team building to bring us closer together. It’s a lot of fun.

“Darren encourages us to be our very best and if we don’t get something right the first time in training we do it again until we get it right.”

Waggrakine BFB is currently fundraising to send the cadets to the championships.

“One of the parents has set up a crowd funding page and we’re doing a lot of events like raffles and seeking donations or sponsorship to bring us over the line,” Darren Cole said.​